Birthday

Today is my #1 brat’s birthday. Like most parents it’s hard for me to believe that he’s grown up. Not that 24 is all that old. We had a little party at our house last night for him and Ali, whose birthday was in September.

Today has been a real drag at work because our ordering system took a stupid pill over the weekend. It’s just so annoying when we have so much to do and we are being slowed down by a computer. I think there must be something wrong with this picture.

I know I joke about Jimbob not being very mechanical, but…he called me this afternoon to ask how to turn on the dishwasher. We’ve only had it for 2 years and he’s just now asking how to run it.

Once he got the dishwasher running, he wanted to know how to get to his website. He has one for a small business venture but can’t get back to it. I bookmarked it for him. But that still hasn’t helped. Tonight when I get home I guess I’ll make a shortcut for him on his desktop.

Oh well. Such is life in the big city.

In-Home Care

Jimbob and I went yesterday between church services to see his mother at the rehab center. She was up and moving around and counting the days until she can go home.

I know Brother #1 has talked to her about going back to her house in Cushing to organize and bring back the things she wants to have near her, but in her mind she’s going home to stay. She said, #1 was taking her home and would stay with her a few days until she gets settled in again.

I wanted to cry when she said that. She gets confused sometimes and doesn’t realize that she has agreed to sell her house and move closer to the boys. Besides, there is no way in hell she can live alone. She’s too unsteady on her feet and forgets a lot of things. She won’t cook for herself and refuses to take her medication. And she doesn’t want anyone coming into her house to assist her.

It’s just sad to see her going downhill so fast. Unfortunately, she appears to have no interest in anything. She does not read, watch television, or make friends with anyone… Her only mental challenge is to work crossword puzzles. All the boys have made sure she has several books of puzzles, but you can only spend so much time doing puzzles.

Jimbob called to say he is meeting #1 this PM to interview in-home care workers for grandma. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to migrate from one house to another as they shuffle grandma around. It’s not like we’re within 2-3 miles of each other.

Don’t get me wrong, I agree we need help, but I’m still not sure having her stay at each brother’s home for two weeks at a time is the answer. Regardless of whether in-home care is provided, the brunt of all this will fall to us girls. I suppose I’m being sour grapes about the whole matter. I really believe grandma would receive better and more consistent care if she were in a home.

Heavy Burden

Jimbob's mother is supposed to be released from the rehab center the 28th of this month. Her back surgery and overnight stay in the hospital has stretched into nearly three months, At this point there's no way she can continue to live alone, so the current plan is for her to spend 2 weeks with each of the boys on a rotating basis. That would have to be disorienting to her at best.

Unfortunately, Jimbob is not the nurturing type. Besides which we both have such varied schedules we can't provide the 24/7 care she needs and deserves. That goes for his two brothers and their wives. There's no way she can stay here alone. If she fell even if I was home, I'd have to call 911 to get her up.

Her memory is very erratic and she becomes easily disoriented. Several times in the past months, the nursing staff has called to say she is being unruly and trying to leave on her own. I can just imagine coming home and grandma has wandered off somewhere, or set the house on fire, or fallen and can't get up. There are just too many bad things that could happen.

A few days ago Jimbob told me she had a bladder infection and the nurses had to catheterize her again. Then he says, "I guess we'll have to learn how to do that when Mom comes home." The only "we" in that equation is "me" and I'm really sorry but I refuse. My dear husband would take her to the local emergency room before learning how to insert a catheter.

And I can't see Jimbob's brothers learning either. In the end the majority of the burden is going to fall on the daughter-in-laws. And we all work full time. Grandma is a sweet lady, but I think it's time these guys put their heads together and work out another solution.

Quickie

I have just a very fast funny for today's post. Yesterday I was sitting in the family room and looked up to see Herald at the door crying to come in. You have to understand this cat is mister pitiful when he wants something. So anyway, I went to the door and opened it,

He was like a streak of lightning as he passed me and headed down the hall. I wasn't sure where he was going so I followed just in time to see him get in the litter box. I can't say I've ever seen a cat before cry to come in to take care of their needs. Most of the time they want out to use the great outdoors. Maybe he's retarded.

RAMBLING

I went to my first aerobics class today in my pursuit of the former me. Not only did I feel old and fat, but like a HUGE klutz. The class and instructor (who is about 8 months pregnant) were busy doing this, and this and this while I was doing that and that and that...and never the twain shall meet.

I finally finished installing the new faucets but on the second one I was tightening one of those silly plastic nuts with my fingers and it snapped. Of course I can't find one locally to replace it and the sink dribbles without it, so I called the manufacturer this PM to see if they would send me a new one. All I need is the stupid plastic nut, but what they are sending me is the complete drain assembly. Talk about overkill.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to give a presentation at a meeting of all our foremen. I hate public speaking. In fact I'd rather do plumbing (which everyone knows I hate) than speak before an audience. I know what I need to say, but it doesn't always come out the right way. The only good thing is I know most of the guys. Some of them I've worked with for 30+ years.

We have two friends who have known each other for about 12 years and last Memorial Day something unfortunate was said by one to the other. Ever since then they have barely spoken. Neither one will put down the hatchet and say let's move on. Jimbob has tried several times to get D to make things right, but he just says he's not the one who is mad.

I got home this evening and couldn't find Herald anywhere. I called and called and he didn't make a sound. I went outside and called some more and still nothing. Finally after an hour and a half I called Jimbob to see if the big boy was outside when he left. No more does Jimbob say no, than the fat cat decides he's slept long enough. Usually he can't resist talking when someone even comes in the room. I guess he wasn't feeling like Chatty Catty today.

Our other little cat, Tinkerbell, appears to be losing sight in her right eye. It's becoming milky looking. We took her to the vet a while back and he suggested that we take her to a feline optometrist. But we don't want to put her through a whole bunch of test and stress her out. She's such a feisty little thing they'd probably have to sedate her just to look at the eye. At her age, it's not worth it.

Well, I guess it's time to go iron my slacks so I'll have something to wear tomorrow.

P.S. Useless trivia. Do you know what the three most often used colors in country flags are? Red, white and green.

Gluttony

I guess I'm just not feeling very charitable today, but have you ever noticed how ordinary, everyday people suddenly turn into gluttons when faced with a large table full of food at a church pot-luck dinner?

It’s not just a matter of someone taking a small dab of an unknown dish to see if they like it. They take heaping portions of everything until their paper plates collapse under the weight of food that will not be eaten. But that doesn't stop them

I’ve witnessed diners going back for seconds and thirds while they still have a heaping plate of items they took and didn’t like. And to see someone with, two, three and four desserts is nothing.

Gee, where did the three little piggies come from? They don’t do that at home. Maybe at an all you can eat buffet, but not at home. And then the same offenders are surprised to see their children display the same gluttonous traits.

Souie, souie souie.

Sink Repairs

I remember now why I don’t like doing plumbing around the house, or any where else for that matter. I decided the other day that we needed to replace the two sink faucets in the master bath because, they’re not only 15 years old, but the so-called gold finish is separating from the faucet and trapping all sorts of icky stuff.

Talk about sticker shock when I went to Home Depot to pick out new ones. I finally settled on a modest model for $90.00 each. Add tax and all that other shit, there went a cool $200 down the drain (pun intended).

The salesman told me everything I needed was included in the package so at least that was some consolation. What he didn’t take into account was that the builder’s typical “cheapest available fixtures” aren’t compatible with anything on the market now. I had to get Handyman Doug to cut the copper pipe to the old faucet because they were permanently attached. No connectors, no flexible coupling, no go to jail, do not collect $200.00, no kiss my butt…NOTHING!

Now I have to go back to Home Depot with my list of things I need to finish the job. And I just love having to crawl under the sink to get to all the little nuts and blots holding the faucet in place. I discovered that one of the sinks is so thin in places you can see light right through it. It’s a good thing we’ve never dropped anything heavy in it.

At least it’s better than having to replace the flush valve on the toilet. They only give you about 6” inches to get your hands in there and of course the toilet bowl is right there up front and personal. I’ve hugged the toilet bowl a few times in my youth after too much too drink, but it’s still not my favorite security blanket.

Well, anway, one down (sort of) and one to go.

Pilates Who?

I looked in the mirror the other day and decided it was time to go back to working out 2-3 times a week. Gravity is winning, and it ain't pretty. A couple of years back I lost 32 pounds and I was so proud of myself but Jimbob never even noticed. So I just gave up.

Now it's time to do this for me. Unfortunately I found muscles I'd forgotten about. Last Tuesday was just a general workout, Wednesday morning I spent 30 minutes on the treadmill. Then Friday rolled around and at the suggestion of one of the trainers, I dressed my fat butt in shorts and went to the Pilates class.

Once I sat down in front of the full length mirror and really looked at myself, I wondered what took me so long. That's when the instructor came in, turned on soothing music and proceeded to put us through contortions, gyrations and deep breathing exercises. It was all done very slowly with no impact training and no equipment except the floor mat.

OMG, let me tell you. I actually got light headed a couple of times from all that "Breathing" and I'm not sure the human body (especially at my age) was meant to do this kind of "stretching". And I fully intend to go back next Friday. I guess I"m just a glutton for punishment.